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Friday 30 May 2014

TW #7 : Greeks Bearing Gifts


Tosh: "So, I'm shagging a woman and an alien."
Mary: "Which is worse?"
Tosh: "Well, I know which one my parents would say."

Episode 7:     Greeks Bearing Gifts.
Companions: Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper, Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper and Ianto Jones.
Air Date:        26th November 2006.

Tosh is given an alien pendant which lets her hear other people's thoughts. As the Torchwood team puzzle over a centuries-old skeleton, the pendant forces Tosh to question her commitment to Torchwood. Is her new-found ability a blessing or a curse?

Greeks Bearing Gifts is a story focused on Toshiko and her being seduced/tricked by an alien. The alien offers her a gift, a piece of jewelry that allows her to read thoughts. Through this Toshiko learns about Gwen and Owen's affair. The alien lover turns out to be an exiled criminal looking to use Torchwood resources to return home after two hundred years at any cost.

It is the sort of story that fits well within the confines of the Torchwood series and should have been a lot better than it is. The story uses the hint of lesbian sexual activity to try and titillate the viewer but it it is more the group's revelation that things are not going as well as they appear on the surface that makes the episode. Now that the team know how they feel towards one another the dynamic of the show changes. Unfortunately the primary story of the alien lover and it's scheme to escape the Earth lets the episode down for me.